The Santa Cruz Mountain Art and Wine Festival will make its debut in Boulder Creek this upcoming Labor Day weekend.
This first-time event will be held at Garrahan Park in Boulder Creek between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30 and Sunday, Aug. 31.
Event organizer Wendy Sigmund said she has arranged two days of music, food, and art to emphasize local artists.
The event is something new, not associated with the former Boulder Creek Art Wine and Music Festival.
“This is really an opportunity for people to come out and see what kind of amazing artists we have,” said Sigmund, who owns Beneath the Redwoods Events. “We are really fortunate to have so much talent in our community and we would like to share it with the rest of the world.”
Proceeds from the Santa Cruz Mountain Art and Wine Festival will benefit two causes, she said.
The first beneficiary will be the Art Masterpiece Program at the Boulder Creek Elementary School, which allows kids to study and recreate the work of great artists.
The second beneficiary is a scholarship fund provided by the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows that helps pay for kids to go to college, she said.
“The kids really come out with more of an education about art than public schools can usually teach,” Sigmund said of the program at BCE.
There will be about 30 artists at the event selling their creations, she said.
Carol Riddle is one of the event’s featured artists who specializes in painting watercolor landscapes of the redwoods and coastal scenes.
“I will be displaying local scenes,” Riddle said. “I live in Ben Lomond, so I paint what one might normally see traveling around the area, both in the mountains and at the ocean.”
There will be live music both days with a full lineup of popular performers, including Who’s Holdin’, Acoustic Shadows, Take 1, and Dead Men Rockin’.
Sigmund said that Pat’s Pit BBQ of Felton will be serving up its pulled pork and other barbecued meats at the festival.
Some other treats that will be available will include organic shaved ice and burgers from Burger 9 — which is located across the street from the festival.
Both Hunter Hill Winery and Boulder Creek Brewery and Café will be featured at the event.
According to Boulder Creek Brewery and Café Brewmaster Winslow Sawyer, the brewery will have their Redwood Ale available at the Festival along with other beers.
“The community is always something that is really important to us,” said Sawyer. “Beer is about community, it’s not about getting drunk, it’s about being there with people in your community.”
Sigmund is hoping to have beer and wine education as well as food and wine pairings for next year’s event.
The festival will have several vendors like the organic clothing company Synergy and Pacific Mountain Clothing Company that do redwood designs, said Sigmund. There will also be things for the kids to do, such as face painting, henna and they can also enjoy the fantastic play structures at the park.
“We tried to make sure there was something for everybody,” Sigmund said.
